Daryl Mitchell's runs had steered the hosts to their victories in Tauranga and Hamilton and when he departed for 44 to leave his team still 27 runs from their target on 196-8, the English scented an unlikely victory.
Four-Test-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell was awarded his maiden central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which offered two-year deals to 14 multi-format cricketers, including Test captain Ben Stokes and injury-plagued pacer Jofra Archer.
In the 18th over of the Rajasthan Royals innings, Deepak Chahar, bowling to Tom Curran, got a caught behind decision from umpire C Shamshuddin. It was a horrible decision and Curran couldn't refer it as Rahul Tewatia wasted the only DRS.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
The Pandya brothers have come a long way. There was a time when they survived on just Maggi noodles for three years while chasing their dream of becoming top cricketers. Today, Hardik's net worth exceeds 100 crores while Krunal's is estimated to be around 80 crores.
Curran went unsold in February's IPL auction but Kolkata Knight Riders recruited him for around $247,000 earlier this month to replace injured Australian paceman Mitchell Starc.
Curran had a lengthy chat with his English teammates and IPL regulars before coming to India, giving him a fair idea on the pressures and expectations involved in the lucrative league.
The left-arm medium pacer's hat-trick, which was the first of this edition of the IPL, helped Kings XI Punjab script an exciting 14-run win over Delhi Capitals on Monday.
England Test captain Joe Root has been left out of the Twenty20 squad for the three-match series against Australia but will return for the three one-day internationals.
Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting along with a few players including senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, all-rounder Axar Patel, batsman Shimron Hetmyer and pacer Chris Woakes, checked in to their team hotel in Mumbai on Monday ahead of the 14th edition of the IPL, starting next month.
England will rest Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood for the three-match one-day international series against South Africa starting in Cape Town on February 4. Worcestershire seamer Pat Brown, Somerset batsman Tom Banton and the Lancashire pair of Matthew Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood received their maiden call-ups.
The fans were estastic as Chennai Super Kings outclassed Delhi Capitals by four wickets to enter their ninth IPL final, in Dubai on Sunday.
Except for Dasun Shanaka, no Sri Lankan batsmen looked comfortable against England bowlers. The 29-year-old all-rounder scored an unbeaten 48 runs off 65 balls.
A resurgent Royal Challengers Bengaluru will look for their fourth consecutive victory when they face an unpredictable Punjab Kings as the two sides fight for survival in the Indian Premier League, in Dharamsala on Thursday.
Sam's brother, Tom, has been drafted into England's squad for the World Cup. In addition, Surrey's left-arm seamer Reece Topley has been added as a travelling reserve. Topley will join the England party in due course
Rajasthan Royals will face a stern test of character as they look to arrest a shocking slide in a do-or-die IPL Eliminator against an in-form RCB.
'I don't think anyone can take a call on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whether this is going to be his last year.'
RCB head coach Andy Flower too was happy with the acquisitions.
With an eye to revive fortunes this season, CSK players including Suresh Raina, Deepak Chahar and Sam Curran started practice on Wednesday.
'Archer is returning to the UK for further management and investigation of his right elbow injury'
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL 2024 campaign is just one-match old, but it has already exposed their biggest chink. It's fragility in bowling, and they need better returns from bowlers against a confident Punjab Kings at an unforgiving M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Monday.
If the teams they represent reach the business end of the T20 league, they either have to miss the finale or skip the national duty.
The Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper-batsmen showed his class with an outstanding exhibition of strokeplay leaving the hapless Chennai Super Kings bowlers stunned, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
RCB on paper look like a team that can make it to the playoffs and with Dinesh Karthik playing his last IPL, Faf turning 40 and Kohli and Maxwell in their mid-thirties, the Challengers will be determined to win it for the veterans of the team.
After the first qualifier ended in Dubai on Sunday, players from the Delhi Capitals and the Chennai Super Kings caught up with their mates from the opposing side.
The first ODI of the three-match series will be played on July 30 followed by the other two on August 1 and 4.
England name their 16-member squad for T20Is against India
The Bengaluru outfit will hope for a reversal at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, a venue that carries similar traits as RCB's home -- Chinnaswamy Stadium -- in terms of a smooth pitch and a blistering outfield adding value to the batters' shots.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's fairytale resurgent run will be up against the might of five-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the weather gods when the two sides clash in an epic do-or-die match to decide the fourth and final team for the IPL play-offs, in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Despite a well-tuned 48 from local hero Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals struggled against an array of accurate bowlers on a rather slow pitch, meandering to a sub-par 144 for nine against Punjab Kings in their IPL match in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to unleash their brute batting power on struggling Royal Challengers Bengaluru when the two teams face off in their return-leg fixture of the IPL in Hyderabad on Thursday.
England also named their final one-day squad before the World Cup, with fast bowlers Tom Curran and David Willey returning to a unit who defeated Sri Lanka 3-1. Tom replaces brother Sam as Liam Dawson and Olly Stone also miss out.
How the IPL teams have shaped up after the auction.
More than Mahendra Singh Dhoni wielding his magic with the bat, it was young Rishabh Pant's captaincy which left everyone bewildered.
All-rounder Ben Stokes on Thursday was not included in England's 15-man preliminary squad for the Twenty20 World Cup as he continues to take a break from cricket to focus on his mental health, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said.
Rajasthan Royal Ben Stokes is to completely recover from jet lag after a long journey from New Zealand.
Gujarat Giants will be wary of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's newfound firepower in the middle-order when the teams clash in the Indian Premier League in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Jonny Bairstow's half century helped England beat West Indies by four wickets in St Lucia on Tuesday in the opening Twenty20 international of their three-match series.
